Milwaukee WI to Manitowoc WI

Lake Michigan

Distance

(miles)

Day

102

Total

2592

Speed

(mph)

Average

11.1

Maximum

28.5

Expenses

($ US)

Lodging

26.00

Ferry

33.60

Rode north from my parents' house on the Oak Leaf Trail parallel to the Menomonee and Little Menomonee rivers. Little Menomonee River Parkway is more of a nature reserve than a city park. The segments with road are smooth and little traveled. A far cry from the six lane expressways they call parkways in New York. Every major park in New York City (with the exception of Central Park and Prospect Park) has a controlled-access, high speed, high volume thoroughfare through the middle of it. Whose dumb idea was that?

Left the trail at Bradley Road where it bends east to make a loop around the city. North on 92nd Street (too narrow with no shoulder like the rural back road it used to be 40 years ago) then east on Mequon Road (an emerging superhighway). Neither of these roads is conducive to cycling.

Turned north on the Mequon-Theinsville Recreational Trail. Like the New Berlin Recreational Trail, it's an improved access road for a power line right of way. The improved portion runs about six miles north starting from the Milwaukee County line. The old interurban right of way it's built on is still nearly intact from Lincoln Creek Parkway to Cedarburg. I've never heard of any plans to extend the trail to its natural length.

Jumped on to Wisconsin Highway 57 at the trail head and rode it north to Cedarburg. Took pictures of the historic buildings and the fairgrounds. Left 57 for Ozaukee County Highway I, which is called Sheboygan Road in Cedarburg. That's a good sign as I'm headed for Sheboygan as a part of today's ride. County I is an excellent cycling route. It looks like an old highway. Lots of twists and turns to break up the monotony and several historic sites along the way including the school where Flag Day originated. It continues on into Sheboygan County despite the state highway map showing a missing segment. County I does not end in Sheboygan so it's not called "Cedarburg Road" as symmetry demands.

Lots of unleashed dogs around here to chase me down the road. I see a doberman racing back and forth furiously twenty feet from the road. He looks like he won't leave his territory, but appears in my rear view mirror without warning. I goad him into chasing me several hundred yards. I find this to be more fun than stopping and confronting them, especially when I get to watch the owner chase them down. I see this dog's wearing an Invisible Fencing collar. He sits down to gnaw his leg after the chase gets boring. He's not getting back home without a serious shock.

North briefly on Wisconsin Highway 32 to Sheboygan Falls then east on Sheboygan County Highway PP through Kohler. County PP is not the best road. It's too busy. Local roads through Sheboygan. Just kind of wandering around killing time. Eventually got on to Sheboygan County Highway LS north out of town to Manitowoc County Highway LS. Another Wisconsin scenic byway of farms, woods, and estates. Rode it to its end in Manitowoc then followed the signs to the Car Ferry.

It's about 6:00 PM and the ferry doesn't leave until 12:30 AM. I intentionally rode all over the place and still didn't waste enough time. Picked up a boarding pass then headed to downtown Manitowoc. Not much there, obviously. The gargantuan Budweiser brewery was a surprise. I wondered where that odd smell was coming from. Lost the safety flag on the trailer. Riding around looking for it ate up some time. Found it on a bridge over the river. It must have rattled off riding on the metal mesh deck.

Back to the ferry terminal at dark. Sat outside on the bike. That was a mistake. I couldn't read my newspaper in peace for all the curiosity seekers wanting to talk to me. "How do you steer this thing?" Now there's a question I could do without. Boarded the ferry in the rain at 11:30 PM, found my stateroom, lightly washed up, and then hit the sack.